Category Archives: GMO

We often see soy in so many food products. Should we be concerned? Well if you consider that 94 percent of all soy grown in Canada and the United States is brand named “Round-Up Ready Soybeans” the answer would be yes. Many of us are familiar with Round-Up we have used it to kill weeds. “Round-Up Ready Soybeans” is a trademark owned by the Monsanto Corporation. These are soybeans that have bean genetically modified to allow applications of the herbicide Round-up to be applied while they are growing. “Round-Up” is also a trademark owned by the Monsanto Corporation. Here is a quick synopsis of Round-Up from the organization GMO Inside:

“Monsanto invented the herbicide glyphosate and brought it to market under the trade name Roundup in 1974, after DDT was banned. But it wasn’t until the late 1990s that the use of Roundup surged, thanks to Monsanto’s ingenious marketing strategy. The strategy? Genetically engineer seeds to grow food crops that could tolerate high doses of Roundup. With the introduction of these new GE seeds, farmers could now easily control weeds on their corn, soy, cotton, canola, sugar beets and alfalfa crops—crops that thrived while the weeds around them were wiped out by Roundup. http://gmoinside.org/15-health-problems-linked-to-monsantos-roundup-ecowatch/#stopmonsanto#food#ag#GMOs”

The decision to consume soy rests with each of us as individuals. Consider this image which was recently published.

In 1996 the first GMO (genetically modified) seed crop was invented and that was the soybean. This GMO soybean allowed the spraying of the toxic herbicide “Roundup”. In prostate health we first want the best ingredients and above all else “to do no harm”.

Ingredients that are free of phyto-estrogens (estrogen – feminizing hormone). Some plants produce estrogen and hence these are called phyto-estrogens (‘phyto’ meaning plant). One study in humans documented a 76% reduction in testosterone production in men. [1] Another study by Nagata C, et al. “Inverse association of soy product intake with serum androgen and estrogen concentrations in Japanese men.” Nutr Cancer 2000; 36(1):14-8. This study in Japanese men showed that increased soy intake was related to decreased testosterone levels. In an additional study in healthy adult males compared a diet containing soy to one using meat as a source of protein. Testosterone levels were significantly lower in the group with a soy diet. In addition the amount of “free” testosterone was reduced by 7% in the soy diet group. [2]

Now more data has come forth with respect to the genetically modified origin of beta-sitosterol from soy sources (2014). The chances that the soy used in sourcing beta-sitosterol is genetically modified is approximately 93% (2014). The worst part of this information is that this soy is being sprayed with glyphosate or Roundup. Why is this bad? Well they are now detecting glyphosate in urine samples. Please see the attached video below. This was despite individual’s best attempts to choose organic produce and live a clean life. I guess all we can do is try our best to do what’s best and make informed choices.